Of Debacles and Debts
by HPtwilightfanatic
Summary: NYPD Officer Annabeth Chase keeps running into one Percy Jackson in the worst circumstances...as in she owes him two doors and he intends to collect payment. Cop AU. Oneshot. Percabeth.


"NYPD, Open up Mr. Stoll!" Officer Annabeth Chase shouted as she banged on the door with one hand, as her other was held ready on her gun. Her partner, Clarisse La Rue already had her weapon out. Annabeth wished she'd put it away—usually she just scared people. No answer came from inside the apartment, so she knocked too loud for politeness once more.

Again, no answer.

Clarisse lifted an eyebrow, motioning her hand toward the door. She was always hungry for action, and waiting for the suspect to open the door wasn't her style. With a sigh, Annabeth backed up, knees bent, and brought her leg up in a snap kick and took the door down easily. The two officers entered the doorway, guns aimed and ready.

"What the-" a sleepy voice came from the left.

"Put your hands up!" Clarisse shouted.

The man, dressed in blue boxers, blinked hard in the sudden glare from the flashlights, but remained still.

"She said put your hands up, Mr. Stoll!" Annabeth shouted, moving closer to the man, gun ready.

"Who's Mr. Stoll?"

"Don't play games, we know you robbed the Art Institute, we have DNA evidence. If you cooperate we can tell the DA-"

"Wait, you said Stoll?"

"Yes! Put your hands up now!"

The man, still refusing to put his hands up, reached over and turned the hall light on. For a moment, Annabeth was as blinded as he had been by the flashlights, but just as she was about to shout at the suspect again, she noticed the color of his hair.

Black. Not brown. Stoll's hair was brown.

As if he knew what she was thinking, the man looked directly at her. "If you're looking for a guy named Stoll, he doesn't live here anymore. I bought this apartment from him a few weeks ago," that was evident enough. Now that there were lights on, Annabeth could see all of the still packed boxes scattered on the floor. "Just my luck that the guy was a convict."

Clarisse looked a little down as she stuck her gun in her belt, turning back to the doorway. "Well, that was a waste of time."

"We could still question him about Stoll." Annabeth advised, ignoring the man. Apparently, he didn't want to be ignored.

"I can't give you much. I never even met the guy, only messaged him online."

Clarisse rolled her eyes, and stepped out in the hall. "Then let's go. We'll lose track of Stoll if we stay here any longer."

Annabeth silently agreed, but she fumed inside. "If you had filed your new living space, we never would have made this mistake." She growled at the man as she made to follow her partner.

"So you're blaming the NYPD's inadequacy on me?"

"Inadequacy?" Clarisse scoffed, but she was already on her way to the elevator. Usually, she was quite the spitfire, and would get up in people's faces more than a police officer should, but she must have been pretty tired. It was 2:30 in the morning on a Wednesday for that matter.

"Whatever. Sorry to interrupt your sleep sir. Good night." Annabeth scowled, her mind already leaving this apartment and trying to go through all of their files on Stoll. Where could he have gone?

"I hope you're going to pay for my door."

She stopped halfway out.

"Excuse me?" She turned back to find the man standing with his arms crossed over his very bare chest, and anger flaring in his eyes. Green eyes, she noticed.

Clarisse didn't say anything, which meant she was already gone. She had left Annabeth to deal with Mr. Angry Pants—or Mr. Angry Boxers—all by herself.

"You broke down my door! I'm not paying for that!"

Annabeth sighed, scrubbing the side of her face. This was exactly what she needed after an unsuccessful raid. "I'm sorry sir, but we were in pursuit of a suspect. I'm sure you'll understand."

"No, I don't. Especially when that suspect doesn't live here."

"Yes, we got the wrong place. The precinct will call you soon to deal with your door." She said it just to get him off her back, and unfortunately, he seemed to see right through it.

"Sometime? What about tonight? Unless you expect me to sleep tonight with no front door."

Clarisse was probably down at the car laughing her ass off. Sure, she could find humor in this because she hadn't been abandoned by her partner up here.

"Again, I'm sorry sir, but-"

"No you're not."

He'd been stepping closer to her and now towered over her height with barely inches between them. On instinct, Annabeth placed a hand on her gun which made him back away, but only slightly.

"Please don't take that tone with me sir." She warned. Usually, she could handle these weirdoes pretty easily, but this guy was making her blood flare in her veins. She usually had control, but that wasn't happening with him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Officer Wise Girl, but I'll take whatever tone I want with someone who just broke my door down." The man said sardonically.

"I don't appreciate your attitude sir." Annabeth said in the same warning tone, but he was not fazed.

"I don't appreciate the damage you did to my apartment."

Officers were told to keep poker faces, remain calm at all times. It could save your life. But at the moment Annabeth forgot her training and was returning this man's fiery glare with one of her own.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Maybe." he considered, looking her up and down.

"Because I can arrest you for threatening a police officer, did you know that?"

"Are you really going to arrest me after you broke my door down?"

"That's usually how it works." Now, instead of her gun, her hand was moving to where the handcuffs were stored in her belt.

"You don't have a good enough reason." He smirked at her, eyes flashing, but he had her. She couldn't arrest the guy, because she was a good cop. Just because the guy annoyed her didn't mean she was going to take him down town to the precinct. That's something Clarisse did, and Annabeth always ended up having to fix. Not the other way around.

So she turned on her heel, and stepped into the hallway. Picking up the top of the door, she pushed it up so it rested in the spot where it used to be attached to the doorframe.

"You can't just put the door back on. You destroyed the whole frame!"

It was against all protocol, but by this point, Annabeth didn't rightly care. "Then find some duct tape. It should stay up for a night." She shouted, then stormed down the hallway, with no thought for the people living on the floor below.

-x-

"This coffee is shit." Clarisse commented after gagging slightly.

Annabeth murmured in agreement even as she sipped from her own cup.

They were on street duty today. Stoll had slipped through their fingers, so the case had been shifted to a specialty detective on the third floor. Captain Chiron had said it was for the best, though Annabeth knew he hated seeing the case leave his department. He held pride in his officers, but it was much more difficult convincing others to hold the same pride.

So here they were, waiting for a radio buzz. They probably wouldn't get much worse than a parking ticket today.

"He filed, by the way."

"What?" Annabeth didn't even look over at her partner, favoring watching a man freak out at the pretzel stand down the street because he had specifically asked for less salt. The vendor did not look amused in the slightest.

"The guy from the other night. The one who lived in Stoll's old apartment. He filed the place as his."

Now she turned to face Clarisse, a fresh glare coming to rest on her brow. "And I care, why?"

Clarisse shrugged. "Because you told him to. His name's Percy Jackson."

 _Percy Jackson_. The image of him glaring, dressed only in his blue boxers came to her mind, and she slapped it away. She didn't care. He was just one person in a city of millions. Who happened to have nice eyes. And look good in only boxers. Not that she thought about that. Because she didn't.

The radio fizzed, static coming loud and clear, until a voice came over it. "Fire, on First and Market. Suspect has fled the scene, headed south on First."

"Hey! It's not a parking ticket!" Clarisse howled, already starting the car as Annabeth answered the call.

"A fire? There's been a few of those lately. All abandoned factories."

"Are there any in that area?"

"Oh yeah." Annabeth couldn't help smiling. Maybe Stoll had gotten away, but this guy wouldn't.

She stopped smiling pretty soon however and instead took to praying. Clarisse wasn't the best driver ever, but she had insisted on it today. Annabeth had only agreed because she hadn't anticipated much action, but now…she regretted that decision as she clutched the seat on every sharp turn, clenching her teeth.

They could see the smoke now and traffic had stopped on the whole street, the sirens of the fire engines overlapping with their own.

"Damn." Clarisse cursed, tugging the wheel right, and pulling up to the side of the street.

"Clarisse!" Before Annabeth could say anything else, the car had clipped one parked on the curb. Unfortunately, the car door had been open, and Clarisse couldn't stop…

"Oops."

"Oops? Clarisse, 'oops' doesn't cut it!" Annabeth railed, her eyes wide at the car door that now was lying in the street, completely detached from its car.

"Well, we'll deal with it later. Look, someone's running. I'll bet you ten bucks he's the suspect."

Clarisse was out of the car in an instant, and Annabeth followed her, but not after mourning the door. The precinct wasn't going to be too happy about this. She could imagine Chiron now. _"Why did you even let her drive? She totaled a semi the last time she drove! A_ semi! _"_

Her partner apparently had it all under control by the time she caught up, there was already handcuffs on the guy and everything.

"What makes you think I started the fire?"

"Your clothes and face are covered in soot, that's why." Annabeth stated, crossing her arms and leaning down to look at the boy. He actually couldn't be much younger than her, but he had one of those faces that made him look young. "What's your name kid?"

"I'm not a kid," he spat, wincing when Clarisse pressed a knee into his back. "Leo."

"Got a last name?"

"Not that I'm telling you."

So he was a rebellious one? They could deal with him.

"Alright, let's bring him down town." Annabeth stood up straight again, and Clarisse hefted the smaller boy up easily, pushing him forward.

When they got closer to the car, there was a familiar form waiting for them, leaning on the car that had suffered a lost door. Against her will, a strike of dread shot through her spine.

"Oh, shit. Now you're in trouble." Clarisse chuckled with delight as she moved back to the squad car.

"What are you talking about? This is your fault!"

"Hey, I've got my hands full," Her partner motioned to the boy she was leading away. A sly grin grew on her face. "Besides, I'm not the one he's looking at."

Pressing down anger as she walked, she stopped about a foot away from the man. Percy Jackson, who was still leaning on the car when she came near.

"We have to stop meeting like this," He narrowed his eyes at her.

He was doing it again. With the boy, Leo, she'd been able to keep her calm. But this guy was making her so angry, she thought she might have to take a visit to the bar later to blow off some steam.

"At least you have pants on this time."

To her surprise, he laughed. He looked nice when he smiled. Not that he was any less attractive when he was glaring. Not that she thought that.

"And yet, I am still lacking a door." He gestured at the sad car door, destroyed in the road.

"For the record, I wasn't driving."

"You were still there."

"So?"

"So," he stepped closer, a smile still lighting his eyes. "You owe me. Two doors."

"I owe you one. Take the other one up with Officer La Rue." she stuck a thumb at her partner, who was having some difficulty with a struggling Leo.

"What do you suggest I do in the mean time?"

Annabeth regarded his car. "I don't know, pretend you're driving a Jeep?"

"Very funny, Officer Wise Girl."

"It's Chase."

"Chase?"

"My name. I don't appreciate the nickname." Especially since Clarisse used to call her that.

He looked amused for a moment, and his lips twitched. "Is there a first name that goes with that?"

"Sure there is."

His smile grew wider. "Playing coy, huh? I'll tell you mine. It's Percy."

"I know." The words were out before she could stop them. She wanted to kick herself, especially when she felt a blush tinge her cheeks pink. Hopefully the afternoon sun was in his eyes, so he wouldn't notice.

"You know? Checked up on me, did you?"

"You filed your apartment ownership." _Why can't you just shut up?_ She scolded herself. A visit to the bar was definitely in order.

"Indeed I did." She wanted to slap him. He looked far too happy over there.

"Well, I've got to go now. In case you didn't notice, we have a suspect."

"I hope he's a real suspect this time."

"We didn't arrest you."

"No, you just broke my apartment."

"I didn't-ugh!" Annabeth threw her arms up in the air in exasperation and started walking towards the car when his voice cuts through the air again, stopping her in her tracks. _Talk about déjà vu_.

"I think you owe me something."

"Yeah, a door. I know."

"Nope. A ride."

"How do I owe you a ride?"

"I can't really drive my car. I'm having it towed. So I need to hitch a ride."

"This is New York. Hail a taxi."

"I don't appreciate your attitude, ma'am."

Her eyes widened as her words from the other night left his mouth, and he knew exactly what he was doing. She can tell by the smug smirk on his lips. The smart ass.

"Fine. We'll give you a ride. But you're sitting in the back." She smirked in return, enjoying the scene of his smirk falling from his face as he takes a look at the glaring Leo in the back behind the bars. Clarisse, thankfully sitting in the passenger seat, motioned for Annabeth to hurry up.

"No way."

"I'm not going to make a fellow police officer sit in the back. That would be disrespectful."

"And it's not disrespectful to me? A law-abiding citizen?"

"Do you want a ride or not?" She threatened, getting into the car.

Percy grumbled something, but he hopped into the back. Clarisse had the face, with a raised eyebrow and curved mouth, but Annabeth ignored it. Her partner had a boyfriend surprisingly, and a serious one at that. She and Chris had been dating for a couple years now. Clarisse always teased Annabeth that she managed to get a boyfriend before her, despite her "princess curls", but now she held the same look she got when they go out after work and one of the cute drunk guys flirted with her. Annabeth suddenly felt the urge to slap her too.

"Can you drop me off at my apartment first?"

"The one with no door? Sure." Annabeth glanced at Percy in the rearview mirror, and he had narrow eyes again.

"Wait, do you know this guy?"

"None of your business, Valdez." Clarisse hissed.

"Valdez?" Annabeth questioned, her face puzzled, though her gaze remained on the road since she was a responsible driver, unlike a certain officer she could mention that was sitting right beside her.

"Yeah," her partner shrugged. "I looked him up while you were flirting with lover boy back there."

Both Percy and Annabeth began to protest, but Clarisse cut them off with a glare. "Anyway, turns out our little pyromaniac has a record."

"Is that so?"

"You're a pyro?" Percy didn't sound so confident in himself at the moment, and Annabeth couldn't help but smirk. _He deserves it._

"Not necessarily," Leo, though he was handcuffed and being taken downtown as they spoke, seemed completely cool with life at the moment. "See, I experiment. Build things, take 'em apart, put 'em back together. Sometimes things go wrong, and-"

"Boom." Percy said seriously.

"Yeah. Boom." Leo nodded.

"What do you build exactly?"

"Anything and everything, mi amigo. Vacuums, cellphones, computers, cars, coffee machines-"

"You fix cars? What about car doors?"

"Sure, that's easy enough. Why?"

"Mine is currently unattached."

"Will you stop talking to him? He's a suspect, and going to jail." Annabeth snapped. She could have sworn that Percy actually stuck his tongue out at her, but she couldn't be sure, as she'd only seen it in her peripheral vision.

"You don't know I'm going to jail. I could get off scot-free."

"He's right," Percy conceded. "You've got to prove it first."

"I really don't need you siding with him." She grit her teeth.

"I kind of feel like we're intruding." Leo commented to Clarisse, leaning toward her, handcuffed hands resting on the back of the passenger seat. To Annabeth's shock, her partner nodded, glancing back at the boy. She needed to get out of this crazy car ride.

"You just passed my street." Percy looked forlornly out the window before joining Leo in leaning his head near Annabeth's shoulder. Far too near.

"Sorry, I didn't really memorize where you lived." She mocked.

"No, you just check up on me." Again, he looked far too pleased in the rearview mirror.

"Damn it, I didn't check up on you!"

"Yet you knew my name."

"Shut up."

Clarisse and Valdez were watching this exchange with increasing interest.

"I am sensing a lot of sexual tension here." Leo indicated the two of them with his bound hands.

"I'm going to make sure you go to jail just for saying that." Annabeth swore.

"That's irresponsible, and as a police officer, you would be-" Percy began.

"You seem to know an awful lot about law enforcement." Clarisse whistles, turning to face Percy.

"I studied law in college."

"So you're a lawyer?" Clarisse actually sounded interested. _Stop talking to him,_ Annabeth wanted to shout, but that would not have been professional. Not to mention it would have just given them more ammo to attack her with.

"Nope. I studied it for the first year and a half. Couldn't really focus enough on it, so I changed to marine biology."

"That's random." Valdez commented.

"Not really, I love everything about the ocean."

"So, does that mean you would take the lovely Officer Chase to your beloved ocean-scape?"

Even though Clarisse wasn't driving this time, the car nearly crashed at Leo's comment.

"You're really pushing it Valdez." She ground out from clenched teeth. The kid just grinned cheekily at her.

"I don't know, he might be onto something," Percy's voice led to only silence in the car. And Clarisse still had her stupid _face._ "You _do_ owe me, Officer Wise Girl."

"It is hardly professional to call me that."

"You didn't mind it last night."

"This is getting more sexual by the minute." Leo whispered to Clarisse.

Annabeth slammed the brakes on as they reached the precinct, causing all four occupants of the car to be thrown forward a bit, caught in the momentum.

"There's your ride. You got the pyro?"

"I'm not a pyro!" Leo protested. Clarisse only nodded, glancing warily back at Percy Jackson.

Wrenching her hat from her head, releasing stray curls of blonde hair that had escaped her tightly wound bun, Annabeth stormed into the precinct, scaring off secretaries and newbies alike.

-x-

 _Aim. Breathe. Shoot._ Even through the protective earphones, Annabeth could still hear the pop her gun made as she hit the very center again. She didn't know why she'd made straight for the basement, to the shooting range. But blood was pumping through her veins that were too tightly wound together to handle it.

That damn Percy Jackson had to show up. Her insides were still tied up in angry knots from that exasperating car ride. She had almost thrown herself from that car.

" _You_ do _owe me, Wise Girl."_

She seethed, just lifting her gun and shooting without thinking through her usual process. Her bullet hit the center again.

"You're a pretty good shot."

That voice. _His_ voice. Why did he have to keep showing up everywhere?

"So that's how it's going to be? You're not even going to acknowledge me?"

She hadn't exactly been ignoring him, but Annabeth decided to roll with it. She unloaded her gun, carefully taking off the earphones and removing the thick plastic glasses they were made to wear for protection.

"Even though I extended an invitation to take you to the sea and everything."

"That's exactly why I'm ignoring you." Not true, but she was angry. Angry people say irrational things.

"Is that so?"

"You can't keep acting like this," she made to move around him, but he blocked the doorway, taking a step close to her. "What the hell are you doing down here anyway?"

"I came looking for you," he said bluntly, and a blush colored her cheeks. "And I can't keep acting like what?"

"Like you know me!"

"I'm not acting like I know you," Percy was again invading her personal bubble. "But I want to."

"You want to what?"

"I want to know you."

Annabeth was thrown into a shock; feeling as if there was a whirlwind all around her at the same time she felt as if she were at the bottom of the ocean.

"Is that so?" She managed, echoing his words from earlier.

That stupid little smirk of his was back, making her blood boil again, though this time she wasn't sure if it was in a bad way.

"It is."

Percy was definitely not one of those drunk men at the bar hitting on her. His green eyes were far too serious for that, though they were sparkling with some amusement.

"Even though I broke your door down?"

That chuckle again, deep in his chest, rumbling like something you would call a chuckle really shouldn't.

"You know, now I'm not too bitter about that for some reason."

"I wonder why."

"Can I know your first name now?"

He may be able to get her mind to melt a bit and get her to say things she usually wouldn't, but not enough for her to send him a smirk of her own.

"I think you've got to earn that."

"Excuse me, you're the one that owes me!" He complained, but a spark filled him at her playing along.

"Still." Annabeth only shrugged.

"Taking out insurance so you will see me again, huh?" Percy asked, arching an eyebrow in her direction.

"Well, like you said, you were the one who invited me to the sea."

For the first time since hearing his voice down in the shooting range, she realized how close he really was. With every word they spoke, their breath mingled. If she moved just a hair's length, their lips would be—

Percy seemed to realize the same thing, for his eyes darted down to her mouth then back up to her eyes. The room suddenly felt too warm for the both of them to occupy it at the same time.

So instead of listening to every voice screaming inside her body, for her to close the distance that was _so small_ , she pushed away from him. She was, after all, still in uniform.

"I'll see you around, Percy."

She could have sworn his eyes were a darker shade of green.

Again, like every other time, he spoke again when she was almost half way out of the room.

"You know I do have a cabin up in Monatauk."

Slowly turning back, just like every other time, she met his eyes again. His head was tilted, regarding her, gauging her reaction.

"So?"

"So," he took a step closer to her again. "I don't have a car at the moment, but if you would accept my offer, I can provide the cabin if you provide the transportation."

 _He's serious!_ Annabeth's eyebrows flew near her hairline, and her stomach decided to do gymnastics. She barely knew this guy! Plus she'd broken his door down! Yet…

She had a feeling. And Captain Chiron always told his officers to trust their guts.

"You've got a deal."

His grin was enough to make her belly flip again. "As long as I don't have to sit in the back of the squad car again."

"No promises."


End file.
